The Shadow
‘LOMBARDI’ — Actor John Pinero brings legendary football coach Vince Lombardi to life in “Vince: The Life and Times of Vince Lombardi.” Presented by the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council, the play will be performed on Tuesday, Nov. 18, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on the stage at Covington High School’s Curfman Hall. (Photo Courtesy Alleghany Highlands Arts Council)
‘LOMBARDI’ — Actor John Pinero brings legendary football coach Vince Lombardi to life in “Vince: The Life and Times of Vince Lombardi.” Presented by the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council, the play will be performed on Tuesday, Nov. 18, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on the stage at Covington High School’s Curfman Hall. (Photo Courtesy Alleghany Highlands Arts Council)
•
•
On Tuesday evening, Nov. 18, a famous voice will ring through Covington High School’s Curfman Hall in the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council’s presentation of “Vince: The Life & Times of Vince Lombardi.”
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m.
Actor John Pinero gives a performance that leaves one to believe that Coach Lombardi is still around today.
Pinero’s portrayal of the man, who has been called the greatest professional coach in football history, is totally authentic. His acting has even won praise and recognition from the professional football community with testimonials from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame and former Lombardi players Bart Starr, Willie Davis, Fuzzy Thurston and Jerry Kramer. He has impressed and inspired many communities with his highly appraised play which has received five star reviews from theatre critics.
The Los Angeles Times called it “riveting.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote, “This is the stage incarnation of Vince Lombardi, brought to you with impeccable care by actor John Pinero.”
The context of the play opens in 1959 on the day Lombardi takes over as head coach for the Green Bay Packers. We join the family as they drive from New York to Wisconsin with children weeping and a wife that doesn’t like cold weather.
“Sure it’s cold there,” says Lombardi, “but it’s a dry cold.”
The play is packed with football history, like the fact that Lombardi was one of Fordham’s “seven blocks of granite,” and coached at West Point. It’s also noted that he took over a Green Bay team that was 1-10-1, then won NFL championships in 1961, 1962 and 1965 before the conception of a Super Bowl with its trophy that now bears his name.
During the week-long residency, which is funded by a grant from The Alleghany Foundation, the play will be performed for both Covington and Alleghany High School students as well as Tuesday evening’s public performance.
Pinero, also a motivational speaker, will talk to the business community during a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event on Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Arts Council office at 450 W. Main Street in Covington.
He’s also offered to give a Lombardi locker room speech to both area football teams.
Corporate co-sponsor for this event is Dawn Ware-housing and along with The Alleghany Foundation, other support is provided by the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
Tickets for Tuesday’s public performance are $18 adults and $8 students and can be purchased at the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council box office. For more information call 962-6220.
